Touring with One Direction
by Azza93-1D
Summary: When Alice's sister becomes unwell days before leaving to tour the country with one direction, Alice is forced to step up and take her place. Unwilling to go on the trip, can Alice's feelings towards the boys change, and is romance in the offing...?
1. Chapter 1

Looking up from the screen and stretching I grabbed my phone to check the time. At 3pm on a Saturday afternoon there could not be a better way to be spending my time, sprawled out on the sofa, hot chocolate at hand, laptop fully charged and the room with the big TV to myself, for once. Obviously this was far to good a situation to last, and sure enough 30 seconds later I heard the front door slam and the excited chattering of my 14 year old sister, Tasha, begin. Tasha was a form of entertainment in herself, she never stopped speaking. Locked in a room with her for a day and no electronics would be required, just sit back and enjoy the never ending Tasha show!

"Aliiiiceeeee, has the post been?' Tasha ran into the room still in her shorts and mud stained t-shirt from football practice. I smiled to myself, Tasha had been constantly enquiring about the households postal status for the last two weeks and it was obvious why. Earlier in the year Tasha has entered a competition to go on tour with the X Factor contestants of 2011 and, as the tour began in just a week, she was dying to know if she was going or not. Of course, the chances were ridiculously slim, thousands of girls around the country had entered, it was the chance of a lifetime. Not to me though, the thought of travelling around with a bunch of semi-famous pop stars in their 15 minutes of fame just doesn't seem to appeal somehow.

"Yep, kitchen table" I replied, clicking back onto my Youtube account. My hits had risen massively over the last week, 19000 people had watched the video, seen me playing the guitar and singing, and the feedback was amazing. I had always been musical, but never had had the confidence to perform infront of people. However, a camera wasn't quite as daunting as an audience of hundreds of people so Youtube was the ideal way to show my talent to the world.

At that moment an ear-splitting scream arose from the kitchen. In shock, I threw my laptop to one side and bolted into the kitchen, expecting to find Tasha gushing with blood from a fatal accident with a knife at the very least. Instead what she saw was Tasha holding a letter, face white as snow, unable to speak.

"Tash?" I questioned. Lifting her head slowly with a smile forming Tasha replied 'I won...I actually won! I'm going on tour with the X-Factor!'. I had to admit, I was shocked. Not in a million years had I expected Tasha to actually win, out of all the thousands of obsessed fan girls in the country how could Tasha have won? But she had, and I had never seen her sister look so happy.

"That's great Tasha!' I enthused, "When do you go?"

"Next Friday" Tasha was practically jumping on the spot with excitement, "I have to tell mum and dad!", and with that she sprinted up the stairs, screaming up the stairs to our parents all the time.

Slinking back to the living room, I resumed my earlier position. As happy as I was for my sister, I didn't think I could stand having to hear about the trip for a whole six days before she left. This was going to be a long week...


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm so sorry Tasha, you can't go off on a trip in this condition", mum said firmly, "Measles is contagious, I don't see the X Factor contestants thanking you for infecting them all before the first tour of their lives".

"Its just so unfair!" Tasha cried, she had been in tears all day. It was the Thursday before the tour began and Tasha has taken the measles badly. I felt so sorry for her, this had been her dream for the last month and it was being taken away from her so cruelly. Someone tapped on my bedroom door and, without waiting for a reply, mum came in.

"Alice, I have a favour to ask you" she began, "Go on the tour".

My mouth dropped open in shock, "You have got to be KIDDING me, right, I mean seriously, this is a joke?".

"No, I mean, go for your sister, take loads of photos, get autographs and enjoy yourself, its the most I can offer to Tasha now, otherwise some other girl will be going off on the tour tomorrow and it's not fair on her."

"Its not fair on me! Mum, I hate the X Factor, these people, they are famous for 2 minutes and then forgotten about, back to singing in the back of pubs and clubs."

" Alice please" mum pleaded, "Tasha is so devastated but she has agreed this is the best thing to do, she wants you to go!". So of course, I had to go now otherwise I would never hear the end of it from Tasha. A month on a bus staying in hotels and having the paparazzi flashing in your face 24 hours a day. To most seventeen year old girls that sounded like heaven. To me, it sounded like hell.

Sitting in the back of the car with my I-pod plugged in, I had never looked less forward to a trip in my life. We were heading to a hotel in London where I would meet the contestants and spend a week getting to know them before the tour started. A few weeks ago I would have given anything to be staying in the Hilton hotel, but in this situation, I would rather be living in a shed with my guitar and a laptop for a month. The car pulled up outside the hotel and a burly looking security guard approached the car immediately.

"Are you Alice?", he asked through the window which I had rolled down.

"Yeah...hi", I replied, unsure how to act around a security guard. He nodded, spoke into his radio and opened the door for her to get out of the car.

"Keep in touch, phone me everyday, and Skype me too!" Mum smiled as I stepped out of the car.

"I will" I promised before stepping out of the car and into the hotel.

It was everything I had imagined and much more. Luxurious leather sofas crowded the entrance which was covered in marbles floors and sparkling chandeliers. I followed the security guard and he led me to a room with a large wooden door. Smiling, he opened the door and motioned inside. Cautiously walking in, it seemed like I was walking into a prison rather than every teenage girls dream. Looking up she saw the famous face of Simon Cowell. Well, that had been unexpected. Standing behind him were five boys who I could only assume were the band known as One Direction. Tasha had talked about nothing but them non-stop for the last six days. I almost felt like scowling at them, purely for the reason that I was sick of the sound of their names.

"Hi Alice, welcome to the tour" Simon shook my hand and motioned me to take a seat. " As you know, you will be touring with the boys here, so you will be staying in adjoining rooms with them in hotels and sharing transportation with them around the country to the various venues in the tour'. "All the contestants don't travel and stay together?" I asked, almost nervously. Yeah, I wasn't into the whole famous people thing, but I wasn't an idiot, Simon Cowell was known to be a scary man! "No, unfortunately security cant handle the mass amounts of fans outside a single hotel any more so if we locate our contestants in different areas it is harder for fans to pinpoint exactly where to go" Simon explained. It made sense if you thought about it, but what a load of hassle for some pop star wannabes!

"OK so, I have to go now, but you can get acquainted with the boys and you will be spending the next couple of days here before the first show. I hope you enjoy the tour". Simon left the room, leaving me standing staring at the five boys, with no clue what to do next.


	3. Chapter 3

The boys just stood there, like they were waiting for me to make my move. They were probably used to being attacked by screaming, swooning girls every time they saw them. Too bad, that wasn't my style.

"Hey, I'm Niall" said one of the boys taking a half step forwards. His accent was so Irish, kinda cute. "This is Liam, Harry, Zayn and Louis" he indicated to each of the boys in turn as he spoke. "Hey, I'm Alice" I replied. Awkward silence. Well, this was fun. "Sooo, you guys are singers yeah?" I though I should make some kind of attempt at conversation, I was going to be spending the next month with these guys.

"Yeah..." Zayn replied, looking almost confused.

"Sorry, its just, I don't really watch the X factor" I admitted. Their eyes widened. " I mean, I have seen bit of it here and there caus' my sister is obsessed with you but I didn't really follow it...sorry" I trailed off.

" So...you don't know who we are?" Louis asked.

"No...", well this was going well.

"That's AWESOME!" Harry yelled. Shocked much? I was! "Its like, we don't have to act all 'celebrity' around you, you have no expectations, we can totally just be ourselves!". Hmm, the boy had a point.

"Yeah, guess that's true" I said, giving them a half smile. "Ok, so what now?" I asked. "Hmm...Nandos?" Harry suggested excitedly. Where?

"No! Seriously Harry, we have eaten there like everyday for the last month!" Liam protested.

"Fine, lets just go get settled into our rooms or something then."Harry grumbled as the others all chuckled at him.

Luxury was an understatement. King sized bed, a flat screen TV that had to be at least 50", Jacuzzi clad bathroom, chandeliers, a room service phone which looked like it had been made out of solid gold, the list goes on! So we had a room each, and each room had adjoining doors to the two rooms next to it. I had Harry's room on one side and Niall's on the other. Note to self: remember to lock those doors before sleeping.

Knock knock. "Yeah, come in" I yelled, in the middle of unpacking my stuff.

"Hey, we are just about to start watching a ton of scary movies in my room, you in?" Louis asked, family sized bag of popcorn in each hand.

"Yeah, sounds good!" I got up and followed him out. Huh, maybe this trip would turn out to be better than I expected.


	4. Chapter 4

As much as I love scary movies, I have to admit, they make me scream like a...well like a girl! As hard as I tried to be cool, I couldn't help it, I was hidden under the duvet half way into the first 'Saw' film. "Typical girl" Harry rolled his eyes. I glared at him but he just stuck his tongue out in response. He turned his attention back to the film but I kept my eyes on him for a minute. There was no denying it, he was beautiful, I would literally die to have hair like his. However, he was so not worth the bother. Anyone who ended up with him would end up with thousands of obsessed fan girls hating on them 24 hours a day. Not my idea of fun. I moved my eyes to Louis, who was sitting staring at his phone rather than the TV. Niall had told me earlier he had a girlfriend, I hoped she was tough, she would need to be to last through this. My eyes dragged over to Niall, who was sitting, mouth slightly open with his eyes glued on the screen. Cute hair, cute accent, cute personality. Was there anything this band had wrong with it? Liam and Zayn had already gone back to their own rooms, claiming to be tired. Personally, I think they were just too scared of the film.

I was surprised at how normal they all seemed. I had expected to arrive to five big headed 'oh look at me, I'm so hot' styled boys, but they really weren't. After the film finished we just sat there and chatted about normal stuff: school, family holidays, favourite places to eat etc. I was wrapped up in the duvet with a pillow on my feet. Niall's head was on the pillow, lying staring at the roof as we spoke. Harry was sprawled out beside me on the bed and Louis was chilling over on the window sill. I smiled to myself, as Louis launched himself the room on top of Harry and Niall doubled over with laughter. "No need Louis!" Harry yelled as Louis squeezed him hard. Louis rolled off, almost landing on top of me. "Whoops, sorry Alice..." He winked at me cheekily. I rolled my eyes and snuggled down further under the duvet, eyes drooping.

Next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake. I opened my eyes to see... daylight? "What the hell?" I began before turning round to see Louis behind me. "Yeah, you crashed during our chats last night, I didn't want to wake you so I just chilled in your room". Wow, that was sweet of him.

"I'm sorry, you should of woken me...but thanks for not!" I replied. He just grinned down at me, "No problem, we are hitting shops today so you have like an hour before we leave, I'm gonna go down and have breakfast with the boys" he told me, leaving the room.

"Cool, I'll be down in a bit" I replied. Going through to my own room I grabbed some clean clothes and headed to the shower. I opened the door and just about died. Niall was in there, "Aahh, sorry Niall! Heard of locking the door?" I exclaimed, turning away from him. He just laughed,

"Whoops, sorry, my shower had broken so I just borrowed yours! Don't worry, I'm dressed!". He walked down the hall, still laughing at my reaction. I rolled me eyes, these boys were just so happy, all the time!

I stepped out of the taxi, smiling like a Cheshire cat. Shopping in London, this was a dream come true! "Ok guys, I'm guessing we have different tastes in shops so how about I meet you somewhere in a couple of hours so you don't get bored with me?" I suggested.

"NANDOS!" Harry yelled, before anyone else had a chance to reply.

I laughed, "Nandos at 6ish?".

"Cool, see you then" Liam replied before they all headed off, straight into a ramble of screaming fans. I frowned, that had to get annoying, attacked by people everywhere you go. Rather them than me, I thought watching the security guards guide the boys away, before heading into the nearest shopping centre.

"Looove chicken" Harry looked like a kid in a toy shop when we stepped into Nandos.

"Never been to Nandos before..." I admitted.

"WHAT?" Harry looked personally offended.

"Chill Harry!" Zayn laughed as we headed to a table near the back, away from windows where they could be easily seen. Harry was right, Nandos was amazing, if I ever won the lottery, I would buy my own personal Nandos.

"I'm going up for a third helping!" Harry began to get out of his seat but Zayn grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Oh no..." Zayn sighed, he had been the first to see them. Outside the door was at least 7 cameras, with all the gear.

"How did they find us so fast?" Niall looked disappointed, "I haven't even finished my first plateful!".

"Ok guys, we gotta split" a security guard started ushering us all out of the back exit. I sat there shocked, unsure what to do. Liam grabbed my hand and pulled me with them just as the paparazzi started pouring through the door, cameras flashing.

Back at the hotel we were all chilling in my room. I was leaning against the wall, my feet in Zayn's lap, who was sitting opposite we flipping through the channels on the TV. I was kinda shaken up, I wasn't used to being bombarded with camera flashes and yelling when I went out for a simple dinner. This is exactly why I didn't want to come on this trip. Harry came and sat beside me and hugged my shoulders. "Don't worry about it, you get more used to it the more it happens" he sighed. "Would be a hell of a lot easier if it just didn't happen though" Liam mused.

"Cheer up guys, lets play a game!" Louis yelled, jumping on the bed like an idiot. He was the oldest, but certainly not the most mature!

"Actually, I think I'm gonna go crash for the night" Zayn replied, getting up and letting my feet drop to the floor.

"Yeah good point, I need to get in my bed before Alice steals it again!" Louis stuck his tongue out at me before leaving the room, and Liam, Niall and Harry all followed, saying their good nights.

I went and sat over at my dressing table and took my hair down. It was wavy from being in a messy bun all day. I didn't have any make-up to take off, I just wasn't into spending all my money on pore clogging powders. I went to the wardrobe and pulled out my favourite strappy pyjamas and was just about to pull my t-shirt off when Harry burst in from his room. I quickly pulled my t-shirt back down. "Shit, sorry, I just forgot my phone," he said heading over to the sofa, looking embarrassed.

I laughed, "Its fine, knock next time though yeah?" I stuck my tongue out at him.

He looked up at me, running his hands through his curls, "I like your hair down, suits you" he said, and wandered back into his own room.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next three days I grew much closer to the boys than I originally planned. I was getting constant texts from my friends at home teasing me, asking which of them I had 'gotten with' yet. But I didn't see them that way. I loved them all as friends, the five nicest guys I had ever met. It must be refreshing for them too, I thought, having a girl around who wasn't constantly yelling 'OMG I LOVE YOU' and 'MARRY ME HARRY'!

Although we all had our own luxurious rooms, we had taken to all crashing in the same room at night. Every night we ended up watching films and chatting until the early hours, by which time we were far too tired to return to our own rooms. We spent most of our time teasing Louis about Hannah, but he always just smiled and took it in good grace. Tonight, however, the boys decided it was my turn.

"So Alice, got a boyfriend?" Louis asked, giving me a cheeky wink across the room.

"Nope, why, you offering?" I asked, calling his bluff. The boys all laughed and Niall spoke. "Maybe Louis isn't, but I know someone who would..." he began, but then I heard a thud and next thing I knew he was on the floor, laughing. The lights were off at this point so I didn't see who had pushed him. Hmm, something someone didn't want me to hear there.

"Ok, seeing as you aren't one of our MANY crazed fans" Liam teased, "which of us would you say is the best looking?" he asked, catching me off guard.

"What? I can't answer that!" I replied.

"Naah, come on, we wont take it seriously!" Zayn said.

"Ok, erm I would probably have to say...you Liam" I admitted, blushing to myself in the dark. This revelation was followed by a series of wolf whistles and a 'get in there son!' from Louis.

"Well, I'm offended!" Zayn replied teasingly. "Awww Zayny boy, I'm sorry, you are gorgeous too!" I joked, struggling over to him in the dark to give him a hug. He pulled me down next to him and said "Ok, next question, who is the funniest?".

"Easy, you win Louis!" I replied and Louis cheered.

"Obviously!" Niall replied, "Ok, who has the best accent...!" he said hopefully.

"Oh, definitely Zayn!" I replied.

"WHAT?" Niall yelped.

"Only joking Nialler, I love your cute little Irish voice" I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Ok, last question...which of us would you go out with if you had to?" Liam asked.

"Too far, not answering that!" I said, before moving back to the bed and throwing myself down between Niall and Louis and shutting my eyes as Zayn said "Aww, c'mon!". All was silent for a few minutes until I heard Zayn say, "Is she asleep?". Louis shook my shoulder gently but I didn't respond.

"Yeah, I reckon so" he replied. "...unlucky Harry!" Zayn sniggered.

"Shut up!" was all Harry replied before chucking a pillow at Zayn and settling down.

"ALICE" Louis exclaimed excitedly, waking me up. I groaned, they never just let me sleep.

I sat up and shoved my tousled hair out of my face, "What?" I croaked.

"You never told us you could sing!". What were they on about now.

"Maybe that's caus' I can't!" I snapped, irritated at being woken up. The next thing I knew a laptop had been shoved in my face and on the screen was me, singing on Youtube. Ah, forgot about that. How had they found that?

"You have to sing for us!" Liam exclaimed, shoving me a guitar.

"What, no way, that would be so embarrassing!" I protested.

"What about a trade, you sing for us, we sing for you" Harry suggested, his trademark smile on his face.

"Ok, fine, but lemme get up and shower first!" I agreed. Anything to shut them up.

Picking up the guitar, I strummed a few notes gently, noticing they all had their eyes on me. I felt myself blush, "Maybe this isn't such a good idea, I am gonna sound so crap next to you guys!" I half laughed.

"No, you promised!" Harry protested and the others nodded. I sighed and began to play.

_It's a beautiful night,  
>We're looking for something dumb to do.<br>Hey baby,  
>I think I wanna marry you.<em>

_Is it the look in your eyes,  
>Or is it this dancing juice?<br>Who cares baby,  
>I think I wanna marry you.<em>

_Well I know this little chapel on the boulevard we can go,  
>No one will know,<br>Come on boy..._

When I had finished I set the guitar down looking embarrassed. "Yeah, so, like I said, nothing compared to you guys!".

"Are you kidding? That was amazing!" Liam exclaimed whilst Louis stood up and yelled "BRAVO, BRAVO!" bowing at me. I laughed, "Your turn now boys!" I said, throwing myself on the sofa and looking at them expectantly. They shrugged and Niall picked up the guitar before they began.

_I thought, I saw a man brought to life  
>He was warm, he came around and he was dignified<br>He showed me what it was to cry_

_Well, you couldn't be that man I adored  
>You don't seem to know<br>Seem to care what your heart is for  
>But I don't know him anymore<em>

_There's nothing where he used to lie  
>The conversation has run dry<br>That's what's going on  
>Nothing's fine, I'm torn...<em>

They finished and I clapped, I had to admit, they were good.

"So what did ya think?" Zayn asked.

"Well, it was _ok_..." I began and got bombarded with pillows by Louis and Liam.

"OK, OK, stop!" I yelled, "It was amazing, of course it was!". Looking pleased, they threw themselves down on the sofas too, Niall misjudging the distance and almost flattening me.

"Guys, can I ask you a massive favour?" I asked.

"No." Louis said flatly and they all laughed.

"Sure Ali, what is it?" Zayn asked.

"Well its for my sister, the one who actually won this competition, she really loves you guys and I was just about to Skype them all back home, and I was wondering if you would maybe all talk to her, it would make her life, obsessed is an understatement for how she feels about you guys..." I trailed off. They all laughed again, "yeah no problem" Liam said.

"Who's her favourite?" Louis asked hopefully.

"I think it was Harry", I replied and his face fell whilst Harry cheered, "Awww, well, we will just have to change that!". Laughing, I went to get my laptop.

"ALICE, OMG I HAVE MISSED YOU SO MUCH, WHAT ARE THE BOYS LIKE, ARE THEY AS HOT IN REAL LIFE AS THEY ARE ON SCREEN, WHERES HARRY, HAVE YOU TOUCHED HIS HAIR?" was the first thing I heard when Tasha flashed up on my screen through Skype.

"Hey Tash, I've missed you too..." I replied sarcastically.

"Oops, sorry, yeah, how are you...?" her eyes were roaming the screen, looking for some sign of anything to do with the boys probably.

"I'm good, and to answer your questions, the boys are ok I suppose, not really all that hot..." I replied, and heard Louis yell "OI"!" from the other side of the room. I laughed and Tasha's eyes widened, "...are they in the room with you _right now?"._

"Yeah, unfortunately, they are so annoying, just so loud and messy and..." was all I got out before I got rugby tackled by Louis. I squealed and Louis sat on the sofa next to me, "Hey Tasha, wazzup?" He smiled at her, whilst messing up my hair.

"See what I mean by ANNOYING!" I said to Tasha, and she giggled, lost for words.

"So, I hear Harry is your favourite" Louis carried on, doing a fake sad face, "Wanna speak to him?" he asked Tasha and she looked like she was about to faint. "OMG yes yes yes!" She replied. "Finneeee, but you really should like me better, Harry doesn't even shower..." Louis joked and I rolled my eyes. I got up to make room for Harry on the sofa, but he just pulled me back down on top of him.

"Hey Tasha, hows it going?" Harry asked, giving her his trademark smile. She just sat there, dumbstruck. "...Gawd Tash, I have never seen you this quiet" I remarked and she scowled at me. "Hey Harry!" came her weak reply.

"We were sorry to hear you couldn't come on the trip" Harry said and Louis interrupted, "yeah, had to put up with your stupid sister instead!". I smacked his head.

"Can I pleeasseeee get your autographs?" Tasha piped up and Harry nodded, "Sure, no problem". "Alice is so lucky..." She replied. "YEAH, isn't she just, we are amazing!" Louis said, making Tasha laugh. The boys waved goodbye and left me speaking to Tasha.

"HOW did you not just faint! You were sitting on HARRY STYLES and you managed to stay CONCIOUS! I think I would have DIED!" she squeaked the moment the boys were off screen. Louis, hearing this popped his head back on screen, "She prefers me to Harry any day!" he joked, kissing me on the cheek and walking off again. Tasha just sat there with her mouth open. I shook my head and laughed, "Tash, I gotta go, I will talk to you again soon, Love ya! I said before signing off.


	6. Chapter 6

"Jeez, I half expect your sister to turn up and break into Harry's room in the night" Louis joked and Harry grinned.

"Can't help it, I'm just so damn hot" Harry flexed his arms and I laughed.

"Yet you still don't have a girlfriend, funny that" Louis retaliated and Harry just raised his eyebrows at him and smiled.

"I know exactly who Harry has his eye on..." Zayn began and the others laughed.

"Who's up for hitting the pool downstairs?" Harry interrupted and everyone nodded, Zayn smirking at his obvious change of topic.

I changed into my black sporty tankini and looked in the mirror. Maybe it wasn't the most girly attire in the world, but bright pink bikinis just didn't appeal to me. This was much comfier for swimming in anyway, I wasn't scared of it falling off every two seconds. I stepped out of my cubicle and saw Liam standing in his swimming shorts. My eyes must have widened before I could stop them and Liam smirked. Six pack, yowwzaa! Harry came round the corner and saw me staring at Liam and frowned a little.

"Put your eyes back in Alice" he commented before heading towards the pool. I grinned sheepishly at Liam before heading towards the showers and shoving my hair up into a ponytail. I stopped just before going into the shower area, hearing Harry's voice.

'...staring at him like he was a frickin' god or something'.

'Don't worry about it man, Liam isn't gonna do anything, he knows how you feel', was Louis reply. 'Maybe he won't, but she might' Harry sounded upset as I heard him and Louis head out of the showers. Confused, I drenched myself in warm shower water before following them to the poolside.

I had never been in a hotel pool before and it looked amazing. Jacuzzi on the poolside with a sauna and steam room behind it and a tangle of flumes emerging from the wall. I dived into the deep end and swam a few lengths before going to join the boys in the jacuzzi.

"Well, I could get used to this!" I grinned, emerging myself in the hot water between Harry and Liam.

"Mmm, I second that" Niall said, his eyes closed. I let my eyes drift shut and was rewarded with a face full of water from Louis. "Oi!" I splashed him back and he grinned before a huge splashing war began.

"Ok, I'm thinking the sauna sounds like a good idea now, anyone coming?" I asked. Everyone shook their heads except Liam who said 'yeah, alright'. Harry's eyes snapped open, "On second thoughts..." he pulled himself out of the water and followed us to the steam room.

"Getting jealous Harry?" Zayn commented, whilst Louis sniggered by his side. Harry shot them daggers. There was something going on here that I had to find out about.

Back in the pool I was swimming lazily up and down. I had forgotten how much I loved swimming! Suddenly, Zayn jumped in just a few metres away from me at the same time as I had decided to take a breath. I breathed in a wave of water, which was the result of Zayn jumping in, and began to choke. Struggling, I tried to move towards the poolside, but I couldn't breath, water filling my mouth every time I tried. I began to panic and my eyes started to go blurry. My lungs were screaming for air as everything began to go black and I felt myself sinking...

"GET HELP" someone yelled and I heard footsteps running away from us. I tried to open my eyes but they were heavy, the sudden rush of air running into my throat burned. My hair was plastered to my face and my head was leaning on someone's wet legs. I tried to look around and I saw a mop of curly hair leaning over me. Harry.

"Hang on Alice, Niall's getting help, its going to be ok" he soothed before my the darkness overwhelmed me and my eyes drifted shut again.

Next thing I knew, I was lying in a bed, surrounded by voices.

"...so she will be fine, we don't need to take her into hospital as long as someone stays with her at all times. Secondary drowning can often occur after this type of incident, if it does seek help straight away".

"We'll look after her, thanks doctor" I heard Louis' voice reply and someone left the room. I opened my eyes slightly and saw all five boys sitting around me. Louis grinned, "Now, I know you like attention, but trying to drown seems a tad extreme eh?" he teased and I found I had the energy to glare at him. My head was pounding and my limbs felt heavy but apart from that I seemed ok. "What's the time?" I croaked, my throat feeling really dry.

"Just passed midnight, you were out for a while" Liam replied softly.

"Crap, sorry guys, you should all go get some sleep, I'll be fine" I replied, exhausted.

"Yeah we were just gonna go crash for the night, someone is staying with you though, doctors orders" Niall said. They all looked at each other.

"I suppose I could..." Liam replied but Harry cut in "I'll stay".

Louis smirked, "Fine, see you two tomorrow".

"Behave yourselves now!" Zayn wiggled his eyebrows at us and I glared back.

"Shut up Zayn!" I glared at him and they all left the room laughing.

"So, who saved me from my near death?" I joked and Harry smiled, "Erm, that was me actually". "Thanks, Harry" I said sincerely, "How can I ever repay you?".

"You don't have too, having you here with us on the tour is payment enough" he replied, quietly. "Aww, thanks Hazza, you charmer" I grinned at him, before rolling onto my side and shutting my eyes. I felt Harry lie down beside me and stroke my hair gently before I drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day was the day before we left for the tour and I went downstairs and saw all the boys chilling in the kitchen.

"Hey guys" I grinned at them and rustled Zayn's hair into a mess as I passed, causing him to yelp in annoyance. He was just so damn vain! I stuck my tongue out at him but he didn't reply. Infact, all of the boys were surprisingly quiet. "Is everything ok guys?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm sorry Alice, its my fault" Liam shook his head and chucked me a newspaper. On the front page the headline read ' One Direction: Liam's Lady' and underneath was a huge picture. Of Liam. And me. Holding hands. In Nandos.

"What, that is so out of line!" I gasped shocked, "You were pulling me out of the way, that's hardly romantic!".

"The newspapers see what they want to see Ali" Niall came up behind me and gave me a quick hug, "I'm sorry, I knew you didn't want any attention out of this trip". Oh. God. What was everyone back home going to think. Sure enough, I looked at my phone. 31 unread messages. Crap.

I had just gotten off the phone to my mum and my head was pounding. She was so worked up. I slid down so I was leaning against the wall and let a tear roll down my face. How did this happen? I heard footsteps coming up the hall and I looked to see Harry walking down, just his joggers on. "Hey, Ali, you ok?" he looked at me worriedly.

"No, this sucks" I replied almost harshly, standing up and heading towards my room as I heard my phone ringing again. Just as I passed Harry he pulled me into a hug. I lay my head on his shoulder and shut my eyes whilst he stroked my hair.

"I'm always here for you" he mumbled into my ear.

"Thanks Hazza, I know you all are" I said giving him a small smile before pulling away and heading to my room.

Simon phoned, of course. One direction were his responsibility and he didn't want anything messing them up. It was understandable, but still a total pain. Liam kept apologising over and over again, and it made me feel bad, none of this was his fault. "Liam, you were saving me from a rampage of camera men with heavy equipment, I would have been trampled! Its my fault, I shouldn't have frozen like an idiot!".

The boys had to head off for a photo shoot in the afternoon so I was planning on having a bath, packing up, generally getting ready to move on the next day. Just as I got out of the bath I heard a knock on the door. "Two seconds" I yelled chucking on some clothes and scrunching my hair up into a bun. At the door was a security guard. "I have orders from Simon" he began, "I have to take you to a new location now, before the boys".

"Oh ok, cool, I will just grab my bags and we can go" I replied, zipping up my suitcase.

The security guard drove me to a hotel on the edge of Glasgow. "I thought we were heading to Cardiff?" I asked the guard, confused. He didn't say anything, just kept driving. When we finally arrived, he opened my door and standing outside it was my mum. "Mum?" I asked confused. Then it hit me. Of course, Simon wasn't going to let anything distract the boys on their tour. In his eyes, I was a distraction, to Liam. This was it, my trip was over. I was going home, I was never going to see the boys again. They had turned into my best friends and I had been ripped away from them. My mum came over to me, her eyes concerned, and all I could do was lay my head on her shoulder and cry.


	8. Chapter 8

The amount of times over the next 24 hours I kicked myself for not ever thinking to get any of the boys mobile numbers was... well it was a lot. I cried for ages, unable to believe what had happened. I had never wanted to go in the first place, and I had grown to love them all, and it was all over, now I didn't want it to end. But it had. I will admit it, I did what any upset teenage girl would do, I grabbed a pint sized tub of Ben and Jerry's ice-cream, shut myself in my room, wrapped in my duvet and listened to sad songs.

The next day my friend Katy came round. "Hey, I missed you!" she yelled, bursting into my room like she owned the place, and the amount of time she spent here, she might as well have.

"Hey Katy" I managed a weak smile before she threw herself down beside me on the bed.

"Ok, tell me everything" she said, settling back to listen.

As I finished she said, "But you told me you didn't like any of the boys that way!".

"I don't!" I protested, "But I loved them all, as friends, that's all Katy I promise! And now I can never see them again" I hung my head. All she could do was hug me sympathetically.

Half an hour into my first day back at school, and I was about to snap. The constant whispering behind my back, the chants of 'Oooh Liam!' and the glares from the girls who were, to be honest, jealous as hell were almost too much to take. "Just ignore it" Katy breathed by my side, whenever I looked like I was about to snap someone's head off. The worst thing was on top of all this, I had a pain in my heart from missing the boys. I missed Niall's cute accent and Louis' was of always making me laugh. I missed Liam's smile and Zayn's vanity! And I missed Harry, just everything about him.

HARRYS POV:

"What the hell?" Louis yelled, glaring at Simon.

" Look boys, it was explained to you at the start of the show, relationships cannot be tolerated whilst you are going through the live shows or the tour. It's a distraction for you are its not safe for her". "There was no relationship!" I protested, "Liam was pulling her out of the way from a storm of camera's, not making out with her!". We all missed Alice a lot, it had been so awesome having her around, she brought a splash of normality back into out hectic lives, she wasn't obsessed with us like every other girl in the country. She was so nice, so happy, so beautiful without realising it... "Harry, wake up!" Louis was waving his hand infront of my face. Simon had left the room.

"Dreaming about Alice were we?" Niall teased.

"No" I replied, but I felt my cheeks growing hot. Non of the boys except Louis knew about my feelings towards Alice, but they all seemed to have a pretty good idea that something was up. I'm not stupid, I'm not gonna say I love her, but something was there, I just needed to see her so I could find out what.

"Ok, I'm not standing for this, we gotta get her back" Zayn yelled.

"YEAH!" Louis replied, punching a fist in the air. #

"How? We don't have her number, we don't know where she lives, we are being followed by security guards 24/7, its almost impossible" Liam looked frustrated as her spoke. I frowned, remembering the way she had stared at his half naked body.

"My dear boys, I do believe facebook is calling out names...!".

I smiled at Louis, "Bingo".

Three hours later and my brain was fried. "How is this possible, there can't be that many Alice Findlay's in the world" Niall groaned. We had literally gone through ever person on Facebook with her name we could find but not one of them were her.

"Should of known, she is far too original to follow the crowd with something like facebook, remember when she first met us, she didn't know who we were" Liam mused.

"She said she has twitter though" Niall replied.

"Yeah but we don't know her name, and the amount of messages we get on twitter a day it would be impossible to find her if she messaged us anyway" I replied. Well, this sucked


	9. Chapter 9

I had considered trying to contact the boys through twitter but I knew there would be no point. The amount of messages they got from crazed fans everyday would mean there was no way they would see mine, let alone believe it was actually from me. I had logged onto twitter and was shocked at the amount of people pretending to be me to get their attention. It was kinda sad. I was sitting in the library as I didn't have a class, but I wasn't working. My books were out infront of me as our librarian had eyes like a hawk, and if you weren't working, you were chucked out. Just then, Ryan came and sat next to me. I smiled, "Hey Ryan, hows things?". Before I had left for the trip I had had a major crush on Ryan, but now all that filled my mind was one direction.

"Hey Ali, I'm good, I missed you while you were away!" he replied, giving me a hug.

"Aww, I missed you too Rybo!" I lied.

"Yeah, I kinda have something I need to talk to you about...wanna take a walk?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure" I looked at him quizzically. We walked outside to a clump of trees on the edge of the school grounds. "So, what's up?" I asked him. This was way out of character for him, he usually was all fun and games, no seriousness. Kind of like Louis.

"When you were away, I missed you so much, and it made me realise...I like you Alice, as more than a friend". My mouth dropped open a bit.

"What..?" was all I could say.

"Will you go out with me?" he asked.

I couldn't believe it, a few weeks ago I would have given ANYTHING to be asked out by Ryan. However, a few weeks ago I hadn't known One Direction. I looked up into his familiar eyes. Maybe he could help me get through this?

"Yes, of course I will" I replied giving him a warm smile, and his face broke into a grin as he pulled me into a hug. It felt wrong though. It didn't feel like Harry's hugs. Just at that moment a camera flashed and we both whipped around. Crap, the paparazzi had found me. I grabbed Ryan's hand and we ran back into the school, hoping they hadn't got a shot of our faces.

"OMG this is so exciting!" Katy squealed. We were back at my house after school, just chillaxing in my room with hot chocolates and music playing in the background. One directions music to be specific... "But the paparazzi kind of sucks".

"Yeah...I don't know Katy, maybe I should have said no, its not fair on him to get dragged into this". That was one reason for possibly breaking it off. Admittedly, I had another stronger reason, but I didn't want to admit it to myself, let alone Katy.

"Ali, he has liked you for ages, if he can't cope he will leave, but I'm sure he will be fine" she smiled.

HARRYS POV:

Rubbing my eyes I got out of bed and pulled on some joggers. Usually I would have just gone down to the kitchen in my boxers but I had gotten used to the idea of covering up with Alice in the hotel suite. A habit I didn't feel like breaking now she was gone. I stumbled down to the kitchen to find Louis in there, reading a paper and looking serious for once. "Hey Lou, what's up?" I asked him. He glanced at me worriedly,

"Sorry mate, but you are gonna find out sometime anyway". He chucked me the paper and there on the front page was Alice! I smiled, then frowned, reading the headline. "One Direction: Liam's Love Triangle?" My mouth dropped open as I began to read the story:

"_One Directions Liam Payne, 17, appears to be caught up in a luscious love triangle. Early last week he was snapped holding hands with x-factor competition winner Alice Findlay, 17, in London's central 'Nandos'. However, it appears that Liam isn't enough for Miss Findlay as she was caught yesterday in a tight embrace with long-time school mate Ryan King, 18. We spoke to a friend of Miss Findlay's to get the inside scoop. "Alice and Ryan have had a 'thing' for ages, and when she was caught in the act with Liam he was devastated. She knows how to play the game though, she just comes up with a convenient story and bats her eyelashes and poor Ryan believes her. She agreed to be his official girlfriend yesterday". Well well, watch out boys, whoever knows who she will sink her claws into next!"_

I was shocked. Alice had a boyfriend? My heart sank. "Hey man, don't worry about it, its probably not true, you know what the newspapers are like, anything to sell the papers".

"She is in the photo though, looking pretty damn friendly with that boy" my voice sounded hollow. Well this sucked.

"BRAINWAVE! YES, JUST CALL ME A GENIUS!" Louis suddenly yelled running to his laptop. What the hell?


	10. Chapter 10

HARRYS POV:

"BRING THROUGH THE PAPER!" Louis yelled and I snatched it off the table on my way through to his room.

"Hey guys, what's all the yelling about?" Niall entered the room, followed by Liam and Zayn. "Louis has had a brainwave apparently" I rolled my eyes.

"Louis, we already told you, chocolate carrots is NEVER gonna catch on!" Zayn teased.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. I really regret saying carrots in that video, couldn't I have said, I dunno, Tic Tac's or something instead? Anyway, read the paper boys, front page" Louis said, and I handed it to them. They all crowded around it and read it, looks of shock appearing on their faces as they did so. "Woah, didn't expect that" Liam said, looking unimpressed. Again, I wondered if he liked Alice a little _too_ much, but I let the though go as Louis grabbed the paper back.

"Road sign in the photo what does it say" Louis asked, bringing up google maps on his laptop and grinning at us.

"YES, YOU GENIUS!" I yelled, slapping him a high five.

"Bracklane Street" Niall said and Louis fired it into the computer.

"Boys, looks like we are taking a trip to Edinburgh" Louis smiled.

ALICES POV:

'_Well well, watch out boys, whoever knows who she will sink her claws into next!"' _Katy finished reading. "Well we all know who they interviewed, eh?" Katy said looking sick. Stacy, she had hated me since our first day at school and was extremely jealous of my friendship with Ryan, she had liked him for ages. But I didn't think she would stoop this low.

"I am gonna KILL her tomorrow" I almost growled. It hurt knowing that I couldn't talk to Liam and the others about this, I knew Louis would have me cheered up in 10 seconds flat, laughing off the whole thing. But I didn't have Louis any more. I didn't have any of them every again. My eyes filled with tears and Katy pulled me into a tight hug as I let them pour.

HARRYS POV:

"The real question is, how are we going to get away from all this security and from Simon?" Niall asked.

"Yeah we can't walk down the street without being mobbed with fans, let alone get to Heathrow airport and get a plane to Edinburgh".

"Well we are just going to have to try" I stated determinedly. I had to see her.

"Ok, that's the flight booked, tomorrow 6am, gotta be at the airport for 5" Louis said, shutting his laptop.

"Urgh, I hate early mornings" Niall moaned, but shut up as I shot him a look. We had decided that the early hours of the morning would be the easiest time, least people around to cause us trouble. "I'll go pre-book a taxi for half 4 then" Liam said, pulling his i-phone out of his pocket as he left the room.

"RIGHT BOYSS, PACK LIGHT, WE ARE HEADING TO SCOTLAANNDDDD!" Louis yelled and ran out of the room, ruffling my hair as he went. Gotta admit it, he is such a good mate.

"Harry, get the hell up, the taxi will be here in 15 minutes" Niall pulled the duvet off me, and I shivered. Then I thought of Alice and I was up like a shot. I pulled on some joggers and a hoodie and grabbed some toast from the kitchen. Just as I finished, the taxi pulled up outside. Our plan was to leave through the bathroom window so we didn't have to meet security at the front door. We all piled into the bathroom.

"Ok Zayn, you first" Louis said as he shoved open the window. Zayn scrambled out followed closely by Liam and then Niall. Me and Louis handed out all the suitcases then I scrambled up and caught my hoodie on the window. I pulled myself free and jumped down outside. Crap, ripped my favourite hoodie. Louis jumped out of the window, "Right, quiet, there is probably some kinda security dozing at the front door". But turns out there wasn't and we all got into the taxi without any fuss.

"Ok, when we get to the airport, hoods up, sunglasses on, heads down, don't walk in a line, don't do anything that makes us stand out, and Harry, keep your flipping curls hidden, that's a give away if I ever saw one". I grinned, "Yes sir!". Checking in was the hardest part, we were surrounded by people, but we kept our heads down and got our luggage checked in and headed straight to the bathrooms – crazed fan girls can't exactly come in there.


	11. Chapter 11

Ryan and me were sitting opposite each other in the library, people were looking at us and whispering but we ignored it. "So, what now?" I asked nervously.

"I don't know, I still love you... I don't love waking up to morning headlines like that though" he frowned, "And this Liam guy, you swear there was nothing going on there?".

"No nothing!" I replied, but for some reason my thoughts drifted to Harry

"Ok, in that case" he started taking my hands, "we can handle anything". He gave me his sweet smile. I used to think it was the most perfect smile in the world, until I had seen Harry's. I used to think he was the funniest guy in the world, until I met Louis. I used to think he had the nicest voice in the world, until I heard Niall. I used to think he had the fittest body in the world, then I met Liam. This was bad. All I could do was smile weakly back at him and turn back to try and concentrate on my work.

HARRYS POV:

"First class flights, me likes!" Zayn laughed, lounging back in his chair. Liam and Niall mirrored him. I sat back in my chair, exhausted, and within seconds I had fallen asleep.

"WOO, Scotland, get out the bagpipes" I woke up to Louis yelling. We had just touched down in Edinburgh. I was about to see Alice, to see how I felt about her. That thought made my heart beat a little faster.

"So, where do we go from here?" Niall asked as we stepped into the airport.

"Taxi to Bracklane Street I'm thinking?" Liam replied.

"So we are just going to turn up at her school?" I asked.

"Yep, how cool are we!" Louis replied, waving down a taxi. We all piled in and Zayn gave the address. Alice, here we come...

ALICES POV:

Biology was my favourite class for three reasons: a) I got to sit with Katy, b) I could actually vaguely understand the subject and c) It was always my last class so I could go home after it. Today we were talking about photosynthesis and we had just been paired up to make posters. I was paired with Katy as usual and, as her drawing skills outshone mine by a mile, I generally did the written part while she drew the pictures. I didn't mind this, it made information stick in my head better. It had been exactly a week today since I had been unceremoniously ripped from the boys and it was the first day I hadn't cried over them. However, the day wasn't over yet.

HARRYS POV:

We pulled up outside Alice's school and got out of the taxi. "Ok so what exactly do we do now?" Zayn asked.

"Hmm, ask reception if we can see her I guess?" Niall replied. "Oh yeah, Hi, we are One Direction, from the x-factor, can we just pop in to see one of your students for a moment? I'm sure THAT will go down well..." Liam replied.

"...yeah, good idea Liam!" Louis smiled and patting him on the shoulder before he marched towards the school. Me and Niall gave each other a 'yep, he's finally lost it' look before following him.

"Hi, I'm Louis, would it be possible to speak to Alice Findlay?" he asked, flashing the receptionist a smile.

"What are you needing to see her for?" the receptionist asked.

"Well, we are from the band one direction, from the x-factor," he began, motioning at us all "and we are in kind of a rush and we need to speak to her, _right_ now".

The receptionist narrowed her eyes, "she's in room 108, turn left off this corridor and follow it to the very end...".

"Thanks ma'daaam" Louis sang before heading off.

"Ok, so what are we going to say to her?" Liam asked.

"I think we should let Harry do the talking..." Louis turned and winked at me, "we will wait outside, don't want to cause too much of a fuss...". We reached the door and I took a deep breath before knocking and opening the door.

ALICES POV:

"Katy, are you coming to mine after school, I have something kind of important to tell you?" I asked.

"Yeah sure babes" she smiled. I had to talk to someone about how I couldn't seem to get Harry out of my head, even though when I had been with him I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary towards him. At this point Ryan walked over to us, "Hey gorgeous" he smiled at me and I smiled back. The teacher wasn't in the room so Ryan thought he could be cheeky and took my hand and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. Bad timing. At that exact moment there was a knock on the door and the door opened. And in walked...Harry? He scanned the room and his eyes met mine. The whole room had gone quiet, Ryan still held my hand.

"Alice..." he said quietly a smile playing around the corners of his lips. Then he noticed Ryans hand in mine and his eyebrows began to furrow.

"HARRY!" I squealed and his trademark smile appeared as I dropped Ryan's hand and ran towards him. He scooped me up into a bear hug and squeezed me tightly. I buried my face into his neck holding back tears of happiness. I had missed this hug. He let me go, his eyes shining, and I looked over his shoulder to see the rest of the boys. I squealed again and ran over to them and got squashed into a massive group hug.

"Alice!"

"We missed you so much!"

"I'm so so sorry about Simon" Liam's was the last comment.

"Liam, forget about it, it was NOT your fault" I looked at him sternly, but couldn't keep it up, I was just so happy to see them all.

Then Ryan walked up and took my hand, "Babe, why don't you introduce me?".

I couldn't believe this. Green was so not his colour. "Erm, yeah sure, guys this is Ryan" I said, and he cut in with "her boyfriend" giving Harry a look. Harry looked shocked for a second, then frowned.

"Ok, we should leave now before the bell goes and you get attacked at the end of the day, Katy, Ryan, you should come too" I said, heading out of the classroom. Louis came up to me.

"Ali I have a very important question to ask you".

"Erm, is this time time Louis?" I asked, half irritated half amused, 100% happy at having him back. "Yes...will you marry me?".

"Hmm...Yeah ok." I replied, far too used to his joking nature now to take him seriously, and he grinned and grabbed my hand. Ryan's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Alice!" he yelped.

"Ryan, chill, its fine" I said and went to grab his hand with my free one. However, Harry got there first.

"MINE, I'm gonna be best man!" he grinned. I just rolled my eyes as we headed towards the exit.

Half an hour later we were all sitting in my back garden. Katy had gotten chatting to all the boys and they all got on so well. Her and Zayn seemed to get on particularly well... Ryan on the other hand was sitting moodily away from all the boys, refusing to talk to anyone except me and Katy. "Alice" he interrupted, "want to go for a walk...just the two of us?" he asked, glaring at Harry and Louis as he spoke.

"Ok mate, what EXACTLY is your problem?" Louis stood up. Ryan mirrored his movements, "Him." he spat, looking at Harry, "He obviously wants Alice, I saw the look on his face when she was hugging him" Ryan glared.

"Ryan!" I said shocked "Don't be silly, me and Harry are just friends!" I looked at Harry and expected him to back my up. He didn't.


	12. Chapter 12

"Harry?" I stared at him. He stayed quiet.

"I'm going" Ryan announced, storming out of the garden.

"Erm, Katy, wanna show us round a bit?" Zayn asked nervously.

"Yeah sure, follow me guys..." she headed out of the garden followed by Zayn, Liam and Niall. So that left me, Louis and Harry.

"Ok Harry, its time to spill!" Louis said, lying back on the grass, completely at ease with the situation. What a twat.

"Harry, what's going on?" I raised my eyebrows at him. "I think... I think I like you" he slowly said, " As more than a friend". Uh-oh, this was not good.

"Harry..." I began, but he cut me off, "No its fine, I totally understand, you have a boyfriend and you don't like media attention and, hey, that's obviously part of my package deal, so yeah, its cool" he gave me a weak half smile.

" I love you, I love you ALL as friends, and I really don't want to lose you, I cried all week when you were gone, please don't let this come between us" I almost whined, my eyes filling with tears. Harry's face softened, "Hey, don't be silly, of course this won't change a thing, forget it ever happened" he pulled me into a bear hug. And in his arms I felt safe, but nothing more. I had been imagining it before, Harry was nothing more than a friend to me. For now.

The boys decided they had better phone Simon to let him know what had happened. Louis and Zayn went off to take on the task. "Guys this is serious, how much trouble are you gonna get into for this?" I bit my lip nervously and saw Harry staring at me. I immediately stopped.

"It doesn't matter Ali, it was worth it for you" Liam came up behind me and gave me a friendly hug. I glanced almost guiltily at Harry. I HAD to snap out of this! Me + Harry = Friends. End of. "Thanks" I smiled. The others returned.

"Ok, so yeah, he was mad, but its all ok, he has accepted that Alice comes with us now and the tour bus is gonna come come pick us up in a couple of days. Is it ok if we crash here for now?" Zayn questioned me.

"Better idea, lets go stay in my flat, we usually rent it out for holidays but its free this week so we can have it to ourselves" I smiled, pleased with my plan. Just then I heard my car pull into the driveway. Ah, Tasha was home from football practice. I grinned at Harry, "Watch out, here comes your number one fan!".

"Hey Tash, come into the garden, there's someone I want you to meet" I yelled up to the house. She came out of the garden and her jaw dropped. All 5 boys laughed.

"Hey Tasha, long time no speak!" Harry said whilst Louis ran up to her and gave her a hug, "O-M-G I am your number one fan, can I have your autograph?" he said to her, as everyone laughed again. Niall was doubled over. Her cheeks reddened.

"Tash come get your photo taken with Harry, make all your friends jealous eh?" I said and she went and stood next to him, grinning from ear to ear, and he put his arm around her shoulder.

"Awww, cute!" Louis gushed, sitting cross legged on the grass.

"Sign my football strip, please Harry?" Tasha asked, handing him a pen.

"No problem" he signed her top, shorts and shoes.

"Cool, ok guys, lets head to the flat" I said grabbing the car keys.

"You can drive?" Louis asked.

"Yep" I replied.

"We're doomed!" he yelled.

"Cheeky! That's fine you can walk then!" I teased as we all piled in the car. Zayn, and Liam sat in the furthest back seats, Louis and Niall in the middle and Harry in the front next to me. Hmm...

When we arrived, Louis was first out of the car, clutching his chest. "I think I'm having a heart attack!" he joked, and I smacked him. I unlocked the house and we all piled in.

"I hope its ok with you guys, but I invited a bunch of people over tonight for a house party, STRICLY invite only so you wont be attacked by mad fans!" I said.

"Awesome, love parties!" Liam replied and the others nodded enthusiastically.

I was sitting on Twitter in my room whilst the boys got themselves settled into their rooms. As far as I knew Liam, Zayn and Niall were sharing one room and Harry and Louis were in the other. Those twos bromance was unbelievable! I looked up and noticed I had one new DM. It was from Ryan. Frowning, I clicked on it. 'Hey Alice, I just wanted to apologise for before'. Hmm, what to say:

'Yeah, ok, I suppose it must have been an uncomfortable situation for you'

'Yeah a little bit, are we still ok though babe?'

'...I don't know, maybe things are just too hard for us to work right now'

'Hmm, maybe you are right... :('

'I'm sorry Ryan, if it was another time and things could have been good between us'

'Yeah, ok...well just tell me one thing... you aren't leaving me for Harry are you?'

'No, I'm not, like I said before, we are just friends'

'Ok...I guess I can deal then, Bye Ali xx'

'Bye Rybo xx'

I signed off and was surprised to find my eyes filling with tears. I had liked Ryan for so long and, as much as I didn't want to be with him now, I felt like I had lost one of my longest friends in such a short space of time. As I let the first tear fall, Niall came in my room. "Hey Ali, where do you keep the hoover, Zayn spilt a whole load of...hey, are you ok?" he finally looked up at me and saw my face.

"No, everything's all messed up, I've lost Ryan and I hurt Harry and nothings right' I cried, hugging my knees". He came and sat beside me, pulling me into him "Alice, Harry is a big boy, he is going to be fine, and as for Ryan, he will come around, he probably just needs time and space away from us...I don't think we are gonna end up best friends somehow!" he joked. I smiled,

"Thanks Nialler" I said giving him a kiss on the cheek before going through to the bathroom to wash my face.


	13. Chapter 13

The party was in full flow and everyone seemed to be having a really good time. The boys were mingling with my friends and nobody had crazily attacked them so it all seemed to be going ok. Relaxing, I poured myself a vodka and coke and went to chat to Katy.

"Heey, aliii" she slurred, obviously becoming a tad tipsy, "Zayn is soo cute, look at his cute little face, I could just eat him all up, nom nom!" she giggled.

"Go talk to him then!" I enthused, thinking how great they would be together. She looked shocked at the suggestion, "OH no, he wouldn't be interested in me, look at all the gorgeous girls here, he's famous, he could have his pick of ANY of them..." she trailed off sadly.

"Katy YOU are gorgeous, go talk to him!" I said, giving her a little shove in his direction. She turned back to me and stuck her tongue out, but carried on over towards him. I shook my head and went to get another drink.

I walked into the kitchen and noticed there was no coke left. I headed through to the storage room, opening the door and flicking on the light. My heart missed a beat. In front of me was Harry, arms tight around a girls waist, lips locked onto hers and her arms clasped around his neck. When the light came on, they sprang apart and Harry looked shocked. "Oh, hey Alice!" the girl giggled, it was Amber. She was a nice enough person, but at this moment acid burned in my stomach at the sight of her. Harry just stood there, looking lost.

"Don't let me interrupt" I said icily, shutting the door behind me as I left the room again. Oh, no. My eyes began to fill up and the room span. I needed air. I stumbled out of the back door. What was wrong with me? All I seemed to do these days was cry, it was so unlike me. I didn't like Harry, I had decided that, so why did it bother me so much seeing him with Amber? Amber was a nice girl, he was lucky to have her. I took a deep breath, pulled myself together and re-entered the party.

I entered the living room and saw Zayn and Katy curled up on a chair, faces close together, talking quietly to each other. I smiled, pleased for Katy. Then I saw Louis and Niall, entertaining a crowd by juggling various items, such as coasters and my shoes. I just laughed and shook my head. Louis, noticing me, came over. "Aliceeeeeeeee!" he almost fell onto me.

"Hey Lou!" I smiled at him, strangely happy, "Hey Ali, can you keep a secret?" he chuckled, pulling me into a corner.

"Oooh, I love secrets!" I slurred, the drink obviously starting to take effect.

"...You're so pretty!" he looked into my eyes and the next thing I knew he was kissing me. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me close as his soft lips moved with mine. Then one word sprang into my head: Hannah. I pulled away, "Louis, what are you doing?" I said shocked, "what about Hannah?". He looked confused for a minute then his mouth opened into a 'o'.

"Shit. Shit shit shit." He pulled his hands through his hair, "it's just so hard, I never see her" he looked at me pleadingly, trying to explain himself.

"It's fine, I understand, nobody saw, its our little secret ok?" I winked at him and he smiled, relieved. "Thanks Alice" he said giving me a hug. And that's when I noticed Harry standing in the doorway.

"Harry!" I began, but he cut across me, "No that's fine, I mean, I thought it was that you just 'loved us all as friends' you know, and that was cool, but nope, it wasn't that, it was that you liked Louis, and that's cool too, except you know, he has _ GIRLFRIEND_!" Harry practically hissed the last word at us.

"Dude, let me explain" Louis said, but I was shocked to see tears in Harry's eyes.

" NO! You were the only person who knew how much I liked her, I trusted you man!" he span around and headed into his room. Louis looked me in the eye,

"Alice, admit it to me right now, be honest, do you have any feelings for Harry?". I thought about how I felt when I saw him and Amber earlier. Anger had raged through me, but why? Not because I hated Amber, I knew that much. And before I could stop it, the image entered my mind: me close to harry, his sweet scent filling my nose, his strong arms around me, staring into my eyes, telling me he loved me...

"yes, yes I do" I finally admitted, "I always have, but I didn't want to ruin anything", I said, only realising the words as I spoke them, "I love him so much it hurts, when I went home from the tour, all I could think about was Harry, I mean I missed you all, but Harry filled my head day and night". Louis looked shocked, "Alice, tell him, and tell him quick" was all he said before walking away and taking out his phone, to call Hannah I guess. I took his advice and headed down the hall towards the bedrooms. Stopping outside Harry and Louis' room I took a deep breath, here goes nothing. I knocked gently before opening the door.


	14. Chapter 14

" Alice, I'm sorry, I shouldn't of snapped like that" he began, "I didn't mean to, and I know you don't feel the same way about me as I do about you and it's fine".

" Yeah, about that...Harry, I love you, when we were apart, I cried myself to sleep every night, and I convinced myself it was for the whole band and that I loved you all, but in my heart I knew it was all for you". His eyes widened.

" But, what about Liam?" he asked quietly

" Liam?" I quizzed him.

"It was just...well the way you looked at him when we were at the pool back at the hotel, your eyes were practically hanging out of their sockets Alice..." he half smirked. I blushed. There was no denying it.

" Yeah, Liam has a good body! But that's doesn't mean I love him. I love _you, _I love your smile, your smell, the way you hug me, I swear Harry, I missed your hugs so much when you were gone!" we both started to laugh.

" Then there's the whole famous issue...I know how you hate that, how you hate the paparazzi and the celebrity life in general" Harry ran a hand through his curls as he looked at me.

" I think it's worth it...for you" I said, blushing. That sounded so unlike me! His face broke into a wide grin and he came over to me and pulled me into a massive hug. I held onto him tight, inhaling his amazing scent. He pulled away and I looked up into his stunning green eyes as his head tilted down towards mine. His lips brushed mine gently once, twice, three times before they connected. Our lips moved perfectly in sync with each other and I entwined my fingers in his luscious, soft curls. I felt his strong arms tightening around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I wanted this moment to last forever.

The door swung open and we sprung apart. It was Louis, and he grinned at Harry, "Get in there son!" he yelled before grabbing him in a headlock and scrunching his curls. Harry just laughed and Louis moved onto me. "ALICE, how could you, I thought we were going to get married?" he looked at me with fake hurt eyes.

"Ah love hurt Louis eh?" I teased.

"Like a dagger through the head...or heart...or lung...something like that" he looked confused.

"Erm, is he drunk?" I whispered into Harry's curls and he laughed.

"No idea, he's always like this, hard to tell with Louis!" he whispered back, he warm breath tickling my ear as he spoke. It sent shivers up my spine.

"ANYWAY children, enough of this, come back and join the partaaayy!" Louis grabbed us both and towed us along behind him, but I kept Harry's fingers entwined with mine the whole time.

I woke up to bright sunlight streaming through my curtains. The first real sun of this year. I heard a light breathing to my left and I rolled over to see Harry sleeping lightly, curls sprawled across the pillow, mouth slightly open. Aww, he was just too cute! I got up carefully so I didn't wake him and I padded down the hallway into the kitchen. Louis was sitting there flipping through a paper.

"Good morning love bird numero 1" he greeted me smirking and I just stuck my tongue out at him, too happy to take his teasing seriously.

"Morning Lou, plans for today?" I asked him, fixing myself some cereal as I spoke.

"Beach?" he asked and I considered for a moment. Yeah, beaches were good, screaming fan girls attacking me were not so good...

"'Kay...sure you wont get attacked by your future wives?" I teased, "or I wont get attacked for being with Harry..." I trailed off.

"Alice, please don't tell me you are having second thoughts" Louis looked panicked, "Harry would be devastated"

"No, course I'm not" I sighed, "Fine, beach it is, but I'm bringing like a shotgun or something, keep the fans away" I joked and Louis chuckled.

"Yeah, like you could handle a shotgun...water pistol _maybe_!". It was at that moment that a pair of arms wrapped around my waist and a mop of curls nestled into my neck.

"Hey Hazza" I twisted around in his arms and he kissed me softly.

"Spew, I've just eaten!" Louis protested but Harry ignored him, pulling me closer.

"Morning beautiful" he mumbled into my ear, quickly kissing the lobe before heading over to the fridge to grab some juice.

"Haz, up for the beach today?" Louis asked and Harry nodded his head, mouth too full of juice to speak. "Cool, I'll go check with the others" Louis bounded off down the hall to the room the others were sharing.


	15. Chapter 15

"Hmm...people much?" I commented as we pulled up at the parking lot beside the beach.

"Well you know how it goes, you see sun, you think beach" Niall replied, as the boys all started piling out of the car. I grabbed my sunglasses and jumped out, locking the car behind me.

"...I feel like a cart horse" Zayn moaned and I turned around to see him carrying four disposable BBQ's, a bag full of food and three towels slung around his shoulder.

"Ok, four BBQ's and three towels explain please!" I said, holding back my laughter.

"Well towel one is for lying on, towel two is for drying myself when I get out of the sea and towel three is for when towel two gets too wet to use, and the four BBQ's...well Harry eats a lot" he finished and everyone laughed.

"Can anyone actually use a BBQ...?" I asked, "Cause if you guys are thinking 'Ali's a girl, she can cook' you got another thing coming! I can hardly peel a banana!"

"Hazza's cooking" Louis replied, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Harry can cook...?" I joked and he just grinned at me.

"So much you don't know!" he winked, before going to help Zayn with his load.

Luckily we had arrived at the beach pretty early so all the people there tended to be older people walking their dogs or families with young kids, so the boys didn't get bothered by anyone. I was dreading in an hour or so when the teenage girls of the town descended. I was lying on a towel soaking up the early morning sun whilst Harry and Louis struggled to get the BBQ going. Niall, Liam and Zayn were already in the water.

"No, other side, shield the match from the wind, idiot" I heard Harry say to Louis.

"Ah, this is ridiculous, easy start BBQ, the only thing harder to start than this is a fire on flipping snow" Louis yelled, chucking the box of matches down in frustration. I sat up, shoved my sunglasses onto my head and looked over at them.

"Real men make fire..." I joked and was rewarded with two glares.

"Real women stay in the kitchen..." Harry retorted and I glared back at him before lying down, Louis laughing and saying, "Ha, good one" before slapping him a high five. Five minutes later Louis finally managed to get the BBQ's going, and they came down and lay next to me.

"Chuck us the sun cream" Louis said to me, whipping off his t-shirt as he spoke. I passed him the bottle which was sitting in the sand next to my towel. A minute later he spoke again.

"...well I can't put the cream on my own back can I?" he grinned teasingly at me and I just raised my eyebrows at him, wondering if he was bluffing. I glanced at Harry and he seemed completely unconcerned by this so I went over to Louis and squirted some cream into my hands, before rubbing it onto his back.

"Ah, massage my shoulders whilst you're at it!" he said, turning round to wink at me.

"In your dreams" I replied before going over to the BBQ, "ready to chuck some food on ya reckon?" I asked the boys and Harry came over.

"Yep, looks good" he said before peeling some beefburgers out of the packaging and setting the on the BBQ. Niall then came running over, shaking water off himself like a dog.

"You guys gotta come in the water!" he demanded, panting a little as he spoke.

"Fine, foods gonna take 20 minutes anyway" Harry replied, pulling off his t-shirt. I copied his movements, deciding I would go in with my bikini top and shorts. I saw all three boys watching me as I did this and felt my cheeks flush a little.

"Okaaayyy lets go!" Louis yelled, running as fast as he could towards the water and throwing himself in it as soon as he reached the waters edge.

"AAHH" I squealed as Zayn splashed me with water, completely soaking me. It was so cold!

"Haha, you get used to it faster this way!" he laughed, splashing me again and starting a massive splashing war. He was right, within a few minutes the water didn't feel cold any more. I lay back, floating on the water, feeling the heat of the sun hitting me. It was gorgeous. It was only second though before someone grabbed my feet and pulled me under the water.

"HARRY!" I yelled, the minute I got above the surface and saw him standing infront of me, pushing the wet curls out of his face.

"You looked far to happy lying there" he teased, gently entwining his fingers with mine. I froze and he frowned, "what?".

"Nothing...just a public place and all that, people might see..." I trailed off.

"Ali, our hands are under the water, kinda hard to spot unless the paparazzi have fish working for them now" he half joked and I rolled my eyes. "It would be more worrying if I did this!" he said before coming in close and kissing my forehead.

"Haz! People will see!" I hissed, dropping his hand and swimming away from him, whilst he just stood there and smiled his trademark dimply smile at me.  
>"Food time!" he said, before swimming to the beach, the other boys following him.<p>

"I looove beefburgers" Liam said ,who, like the others, was on his second one already. Niall, who practically inhaled his food, was on his third. I wasn't even halfway through my first!

"Niall, heard of indigestion? Caus' you're gonna get it!" I warned him and he just shrugged, taking another massive bite of burger. It was at that moment that I noticed a group of girls, maybe about 10 of them, walking over towards us.

"Uh-oh, fan girls at 9 o'clock" Liam muttered and all the others turned around to look.

"OH EM GEE it is them!" I heard one of the girls squeal and they all began to run over to us.

"Just stay back" Harry squeezed my shoulder as him and the others stood up as the girls came towards us. I sat back down, pulling on Harry's hoodie to make myself less exposed.

"OMG HARRY, can I please have a picture, I love you so much!" the first girl ran up to him and he just smiled down at her.

"Sure, no problem" he said and she pulled out her phone.

"ZAYN, zayn we love you so much!"

"Liam, you are so hot!"

"Louis! I eat carrots!"

"Niall! Please sign my t-shirt!"

The girls descended on the boys and, like true professionals, they all smiled and nodded at them, allowing their pictures to be taken and signing various items of clothing. One of the girls clocked me sitting there and came and sat down next to me.

"Hey, do you know the boys?" she asked and I felt butterflies rising in my stomach at the fake smile plastered on her face. Her eyes looked unfriendly.

"Yeah, a little" I gave her a half smile before standing up. She pulled me back down.

"Harry is _mine_!" she hissed and my eyes widened in shock, "if I see you _anywhere near him_ I swear it will be the last thing you ever do". I flared up instantly.

"Ok, who the hell do you think you are?" I asked, standing up as she mirrored my movements.

"Who am I? Who the hell are you? You are an ugly slag, how much did your parents have to pay to get them to spend a day with you?" she practically yelled and everyone turned around to face us. Harry and Louis came over and stood beside me.

"What's going on Alice?" Louis looked at me, a slight frown on his face.

"Harry, I love you, can't you see that?" the girls eyes turned pleading as she grabbed Harry's shoulders. I knew this trip had been a bad idea.

"Erm, thanks, I'm sure you're a lovely person too..." he took a half step back from the girl.

"Please, please, stay with me instead of her!" she shot daggers at me, "I will give you anything you want!" she turned back to Harry and he looked shocked.

"Hold up, she's my...friend!" I saw him stumble slightly over the word, "Can you leave her alone please?" he asked, before turning his back on the girl and coming over to me.

"You ok Ali?" he whispered and I nodded, feeling tears of anger prickling in the corner of my eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine, can we please go?" I asked and he nodded.

"Ok, sorry girls, we have to go now" he announced and was rewarded with a chorus of 'awws' and 'No, please stays' from the group of girls. We all quickly grabbed our stuff before heading back to the car, the girls finally heading back to the other end of the beach as we went.

I was in shock, all that hate from one person just because I had been sitting with the boys. I needed to speak to Katy.


	16. Chapter 16

We arrived back at the flat in record timing. Nobody had spoken for the car journey home, all of Louis' attempts at making jokes had fallen flat and he had given up. Everyone piled out of the car and headed towards the house, except me. I stayed in the car, planning to drive over to Katy's house. Harry turned around and noticed I wasn't following them so he came over to the drivers window and I rolled it down.

"Hey, not coming in?" he asked and I shook my head.

"Nope, I haven't seen Katy in a while and I just thought I would go over and see her..." I trailed off awkwardly. Harry wasn't stupid, he knew exactly why I was going to see Katy.

"Alice, what happened today that is a one off thing..." he began but I cut him off by starting the car engine.

"Harry, I know, I just want to visit my friend ok?" I rammed the car into first gear, tears prickling in my eyes at the thought of hurting Harry this way.

"Ok...I love you" he said and I gave him a weak smile before rolling up the window and heading to Katy's.

Harry's POV:

I watched Alice drive away, mentally kicking myself inside. How could I be fucking this up so well already? I shuffled back into the flat, kicking pebbles out of my way in annoyance as I went.

"Hazza mc Mazza, where's Alice?" Louis greeted me and I shrugged my shoulders.

"She's gone to Katy's" I sighed, throwing myself down on the sofa and punching a pillow into a comfier shape. Louis threw himself down on my feet.

"She love's you" he said simply and I snorted.

"Yeah for how long though if shit like this keeps happening?" I muttered angrily into the pillow.

"Ahem, I quote 'I love him so much it hurts, when I went home from the tour, all I could think about was Harry, I mean I missed you all, but Harry filled my head day and night'" Louis mimicked Alice's voice as he spoke. I twisted around to face Louis.

"You being serious?" I asked, a feeling of hope rising in my stomach.

"Yeah, I don't see her leaving you any time soon mate".

Alice's POV:

"and then I just drove away and left him there, god I'm such a bitch" I finished up. I was sitting cross legged on the end of Katy's bed and she was sitting at the top end, leaning against the pillows.

"Erm earth to Ali? You had just been attacked by a mad fan, I'm pretty sure you deserve a break" she stabbed her spoon back into the tub of Ben and Jerry's sitting between us.

"I know, I just have no idea what to say to him when I go back" I frowned, fiddling with my necklace as I spoke, "I mean, what if he decides to end it as I'm too much trouble?".

"This boy travelled half way across the country to be with you, idiot! He isn't going to end it because you got attacked by HIS fans" she shook her head at me and laughed, like I was a complete idiot.

"I suppose..." I checked my watch, "Wow I have been moaning at you for like 3 hours, I'm sorry!" I exclaimed standing up and shoving my feet into my pumps.

"Hey, don't worry about it, that's what I'm here for" she waved her spoon vaguely in the air and I leaned over and gave her a massive hug.

"Thanks Katy, you are the best friend ever" I said as I jumped up and headed out of her house. I drove home quickly and backed the car into the driveway. As soon as I opened the door Harry was there, looking at me worriedly. I ran to him and threw my arms around him. He just stood there shocked for a minute before his arms finally found their way around me too.

"Sorry I ran off" I mumbled into his chest and he stroked my hair.

"Sorry I have crazy fans" he replied and I chuckled before stepping back and linking my hand with his instead. We walked into the house and Louis was standing there, hands on his hips like a real drama queen.

"FINALLY! I thought you were running out on me before our wedding!" he looked pointedly at me and I grinned and gave him a hug too.

"Aww Lou, I would never run out on you" I said laughing and running into the living room before he had time to respond. Niall was in there watching some film.

"Hey Nialler, where's Zayn and Liam?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Gone shopping I reckon. You ok now babes?" he asked and I nodded as Harry came and sat down next to me, pulling me into his chest.

"Erm, what you doing with my fiancé Haz?" Louis asked and Harry just grabbed a cushion and threw it at him. Just then Louis phone rang and he said 'shit, Simon' before answering. He spoke to Simon for a few minutes before coming back.

"Ok so secruity guards are picking us up in an hour..." he said and there was a moment of dead silence.

"WHAT? AN HOUR? I NEED TO PACK!" Niall jumped up and ran out of the room, the rest of us right behind him.  
>"Ah, I cant pack everything I need in an hour!" I moaned to Harry was ran into my room.<p>

"Just do it my way!" He said and started grabbing everything of his in sight and shoving it haphazardly into a suitcase. I raised my eyebrows at him and he grinned at me, "I love you". Just then Zayn and Liam came casually strolling into my room.  
>"Where's the fire?" Liam asked and Harry grabbed him over dramatically and shook him.<p>

"We are leaving in ONE HOUR! Zayn, you better hurry up, it takes you about that much time to do your hair" Harry said and Liams eyes widened.

"Crap, gotta go pack!" he said and darted out of the room as well. I suddenly started laughing, and I couldn't stop.

"Ok, I see NOTHING funny about this situation!" Harry exclaimed and I just lay on the bed, grinning to myself.

"Me either, I just love you guys so much" I said and he smiled his amazing smile.

"Simons orders" the burly guard said as Harry stood there with his arms folded over his chest defiantly.

"Harry, it's fine leave it, I'll be fine with Niall" I flashed Niall a grin and he came over and put his arm around my shoulder.

"Harry its only a few hours, I'll look after her" Niall promised and Harry finally nodded. Three guards had arrived and they had been instructed on who each of them had to take. Liam and Zayn were going with one, Louis and Harry were together and me and Niall.

"Fine" Harry pulled me into his chest and kissed the top of my head, "I'll see you in a few" he said before getting in the car next to Louis. I waved as they pulled away.

"Right, lets go!" I smiled at Niall before getting into the back of the last car with him. It was weird inside, there was a tinted glass panel between us in the driver and all the windows were blacked out.

"Windows are to stop the paparazzi, glass is so we don't distract the driver...it's soundproof and we are noisy" he explained and I nodded. His accent still slayed me, it was adorable. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out, one new text from Harry. I rolled my eyes before I read it:

_I miss you already xxxx_

I put my phone back in my pocket without replying. I had just seen him 5 seconds ago!

"Harry?" Niall asked and I nodded. He frowned a little as he took in my expression, "I thought that would be a good thing?"

"It is...I just can't be doing with constant texting" I admitted and Niall nodded understanding.

"Me either, I prefer to talk to people face to face" he said and I nodded in agreement. I lay back against the window and put my feet in Niall's lap. And then I looked at him. And I mean really looked at him for the first time. I had always thought of Niall as cute, the little Irish boy with the cute blue eyes. Now was the first time that I realised he was actually hot! His skin was getting tanned from all the sun we had been having recently and his hair was growing a bit longer, his blonde highlights merging with the darker blonde ones.

"What?" he asked, seeing me assessment of him and I just shook my head and leaned back, yawning. I hadn't slept well in a while.

"Nothing it's just...you are kind of beautiful you know?" I said sleepily. Then I realised that I had actually just said that outside. To Harry, my boyfriends, band mate. Crap.


End file.
